Analyse Asia Podcast: Why Did Apple Invest In Didi?

Josh Horwitz from Quartz joins us in a discussion on Apple’s recent decision to invest in China’s largest ride hailing app, Didi Chuxing and the implications for Uber in their plans to conquer China and the rest of the world. We move beyond the obvious reasons, such as managing their diplomatic relations with the Chinese government, and dive into Apple’s preparation for their entrance into China similar to other automotive makers. In this episode, Josh also takes us through the intricacies of the Chinese government’s regulations of the transportation industry. Last but not least, we also discuss the power players behind Didi and Grab and how traditional “old” money are boiling into technology startups in Asia.

Analyse Asia with Bernard Leong is a weekly podcast dedicated to the pulse of technology, business & media in Asia. They interview thought leaders and leading industry players and gain their insights to how we perceive and understand the market. Analyse Asia is a content partner of TechNode.

TechNode does not endorse any commentary made in the program.

Notes:

Josh Horwitz, Writer from Quartz

What interesting news has Josh been covering in Asia recently? [1:12]

Alibaba is buying not building its way into Southeast Asia

Netflix faces rivals in India and Southeast Asia that are better adapted to local realities.

A brief history of Chinese accounting shenanigans in America.

The On-Demand Transportation Wars [2:09]

Since our last conversation, what’s the status of the industry’s dominant players? (Uber, Didi, Ola and Grab/Go-Jek) [2:28]